$220,000 – That was the average companies spent on corporate retreats in 2022.

Securing just one of those bookings has the potential to turn your financial outlook positive for the entire year.

So why do certain hotels and resorts exhibit reluctance when it comes to taking the plunge?

FEAR

The following are the most common reasons for hesitation and what you can do to quiet those fears and start hosting corporate events.

Unfamiliar Clientele

Let’s face it – you’ve been focusing on family trips or couples retreats for decades and it’s made you successful. Do you really want to put yourself out there to handle high maintenance groups, with very specific needs?

Here’s the thing – the needs of corporate clientele aren’t as scary as you may think.

There are several things you need to have to get their initial business, but once they are in house, they really only need you to be attentive.

The great news is – they book their stays on midweeks and in the off-season, so you should have the availability to cater to them.

Corporate client’s needs only your attention and your willingness to satisfy their needs quickly. If you don’t have the solution readily available – you need only the ability to swiftly obtain it.

Uncertainty in attracting clients

“Ok, you’ve convinced me – I should be hosting Corporate Retreats… But I don’t even know how to start getting Corporate Meeting Planners’ attention.”

Lucky for us – we know how these corporate planners find retreat destinations.

72% of travelers research and book their destinations online. That means you must optimize your online presence to cater to the corporate event planner’s attention.

Speaking of attention – once a potential customer hits your website, you have about 8 seconds to grab their attention. That means you need to optimize your website and make it abundantly clear that you offer corporate meetings and events.

How will this affect our current business

Even after it becomes clear what you need to do, the inner voice inside starts to panic about change – how is this going to affect our repeat customers?

Here’s the best part – most of them aren’t even going to cross paths with your corporate business. As I mentioned earlier, these groups come during midweeks and off-seasons – allowing you to cater to them and not affecting your ability to produce the same product you’ve had for the last 15 years.

If anything, they will only benefit from the corporate dollars you will soon be able to invest back into your hotel or resort.

“We don’t want to scare our loyal guests away by redesigning our site to cater to corporate meetings and events.”

That’s the beauty of our philosophy.

All you need to do is add a little link in your current website’s navigation and we’ll build you an optimized website – just for corporate planners. Heck – you can even throw a little rebranding if you want. New program. New website. New you.

Think you’re ready to move into the corporate event market? Book a free consultation with BeesNest and let us help you take your hotel or resort to the next level.

---